Museu d'Història de la Ciutat (City History Museum)

Museu d'Història de la Ciutat (City History Museum) Review

This fascinating museum just off the Plaça del Rei traces Barcelona's evolution from its first Iberian settlement to its founding by the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca in about 230 BC to Roman and Visigothic times and beyond. Antiquity is the focus here: Romans took the city during the Punic Wars, and the striking underground remains of their Colonia Favencia Julia Augusta Paterna Barcino (Favored Colony of the Father Julius Augustus Barcino), through which you can roam on metal walkways, are the museum's main treasure. Archaeological finds include parts of walls and fluted columns as well as recovered busts and vases. Around Plaça del Rei are the Palau Reial Major, the splendid Saló del Tinell, the chapel of Santa Àgata, and the Torre del Rei Martí, a lookout tower with views over the Barri Gòtic.